Furniture with screen

ABSTRACT

In order to achieve a reduction in weight and convenience in terms of handling, a piece of furniture with a screen according to the present invention comprises a main body and a drawer provided therein. A screen is rolled up and stored in the interior of the drawer. Corner supporting members constituted with a smaller front-back dimension than the front-back dimension of the main body are connected respectively to the left and right end portions on the rear side of the main body in order to support the main body, and base portions which contact the ground frontward of the screen are provided on the left/right pair of supporting members.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to furniture with a screen in whichvarious objects can be placed on the upper face of a main body, and inwhich a screen, when not in use, can be completely stored inside themain body.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years projection screens for projecting images, or simplyscreens, have come to be used in homes so that larger images may beenjoyed.

Accordingly, a large variety of cabinets, pieces of furniture, and thelike provided with such a screen have been proposed.

Typical of these cabinets and pieces of furniture provided with a screenare large, heavy pieces such as those having upper and lower storageportions with doors, those having storage portions with doors on theleft and right sides, and so on, and hence a great deal of labor isrequired during transportation and movement thereof.

Further, in furniture comprising storage portions with doors, a casingor the like in which the screen is rolled and stored is typicallyprovided on the upper end, and since the screen is provided on the upperend, the lower space must be preserved when the screen is in use. Hencethe overall size and height of the piece of furniture increases, causinga further increase in weight.

Moreover, the part in which the screen is housed must be caused toprotrude forward from the constitutional members of the cabinet (orfurniture) so that these constitutional members do not contact thescreen when in use. As a result, care must be taken duringtransportation and installation that the storage part does not contactother objects, which is extremely troublesome in terms of handling.

The present invention has been designed in consideration of thesituation described above, and it is an object thereof to provide apiece of furniture with a screen in which a reduction in weight can beachieved and which is favorable in terms of handling.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, when a main body and a drawer provided thereinwhich is freely movable between a pulled-out position in which thedrawer is pulled-out frontward and a storage position in which thedrawer is stored inside the main body are comprised, a screen is rolledup and stored in the interior of the drawer, the screen is constitutedto be freely modifiable in attitude between a usage attitude in whichthe screen stored inside the drawer is raised upward when the drawer ispulled out and a storage attitude in which the screen is rolled up andstored inside the drawer, corner supporting members having a smallerfront-back dimension than the front-back dimension of the main body areconnected to the respective left and right end portions on the rear sideof the main body to support the main body, and support legs comprising abase portion which contacts the ground frontward of the screen in atleast the usage attitude thereof are provided on the left/right pair ofsupporting members, the screen can be set in its usage attitude bypulling the drawer forward using the electric power of an electric motoror the like or using manual power and then raising (pulling) the screenwhich is rolled up and stored in the drawer upward using the electricpower of an electric motor or the like or using manual power. By rollingup the unfurled screen, the screen can be rolled up and stored insidethe drawer. Once the screen has been stored, the drawer is pushed intothe main body using the electric power of an electric motor or the likeor using manual power. By constituting the screen so as to be raised(pulled) upward, a tall main body such as that of a conventional pieceof furniture need not be provided, and thus a reduction in weight can beachieved. Further, the main body is supported by corner supportingmembers with a smaller front-back dimension than that of the main body,and thus a reduction in the weight of the supporting members themselvescan be achieved. Although supporting members with a small front-backdimension are used such that when the drawer is pulled forward to placethe screen in its usage attitude, the screen is positioned far towardthe front side, the main body can be securely prevented from fallingforward by the base portions which contact the ground frontward of thescreen.

In the present invention, when the supporting member is constituted by aplate-form member formed in a substantially L-shaped form when seen fromabove which is connected to the main body so as to contact the rear faceof the main body on the left and right corner portions and the adjacentside face thereto on either the left or right side, the supportingmember can be made thinner and lighter than a member in planar form, andthe supporting member can be connected to the main body without the needfor gutters.

In the present invention, when the main body is constituted in a boxshape with an open front face comprising a single space in which thedrawer storing the screen can be stored, and when the height of theupper end of the supporting member is set to be substantially equal tothe height of the upper end of the main body, further reductions in thesize and weight of the main body can be achieved.

In the present invention, when the main body is constituted in a boxshape with an open front face comprising a single space in which thedrawer storing the screen can be stored, the upper end of the supportingmember is set higher than the upper end of the main body so as to bepositioned thereabove, and a fitting portion is provided on the endportion of the respective rear plate portions of the two cornersupporting members, a back board can be attached by simply fitting theback board into the fitting portion. The back board may also be used asa board member for attaching a plasma display, liquid crystal display,or similar to the back board. Moreover, since the back board ispositioned rearward, the center of gravity of the entire piece offurniture with a screen does not move greatly forward even when a heavyweight such as the plasma display or liquid crystal display describedabove is attached to the back board.

In the present invention, by forming a protruding portion whichprotrudes outward or inward to form an interior space over the entiretyof the vertical direction of the supporting member, an increase instrength is achieved and the interior space formed in the protrudingportion can be used as a space for providing a wiring duct to supplypower to audio equipment placed on the main body, or as a space forstoring a cord for the audio equipment and so on placed on the mainbody.

In the present invention, by providing an attachment portion to which aspeaker can be attached on the front end portion of the supportingmember, a speaker can be attached easily and quickly.

In the present invention, by forming a space into which a movable trayfor carrying audio equipment can be inserted and stored in the lowerportion of the main body, wiring and maintenance work can be performedeasily and quickly on the audio equipment placed on the tray in an openarea by pulling the tray out of the main body. Once the wiring ormaintenance work is complete, the tray can be pushed quickly back intothe space in the lower portion of the main body.

In the present invention, by forming tray spaces into which two movabletrays for carrying audio equipment can be inserted and stored and aspeaker space in which a center speaker can be disposed between the twotrays in the lower portion of the main body, audio equipment can beplaced on each of the two trays in an open area by pulling the trays outof the lower portion of the main body, and wiring and maintenance workcan be performed thereon easily and quickly. Once the wiring ormaintenance work is complete, the trays can be pushed quickly back intothe space in the lower portion of the main body. Further, by disposing acenter speaker between the trays, no special installation space need beprovided, and sound or the like can be output from an optimum positionin relation to the screen.

In the present invention, when the tray is constituted by a carryingportion for carrying audio equipment and a left/right pair of verticalwall portions which rise upward from the left and right end portions ofthe carrying portion, and the tray is provided with a concave portionformed on the rear face of the carrying portion into which a poweroutlet for the audio equipment carried on the carrying portion isembedded, the front face and rear face of the tray are both open, andthus operations (including remote control operations) from the frontface of the tray, maintenance work, or wiring and maintenance work fromthe rear face of the tray can be performed easily. Further, by insertinga power plug of the audio equipment carried on the tray into the poweroutlet, trouble which occurs when a power plug attached to the distalend of a power cord of the audio equipment is inserted directly into anoutlet attached to a wall, such as the power cord catching on a part oftray and becoming damaged, can be avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a piece of furniture with a screen in a storageattitude, (a) being a front view thereof, and (b) being a rear viewthereof;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the piece of furniture with the screen in thestorage attitude;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the piece of furniture with the screen in thestorage attitude;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the piece of furniture with the screen in ausage attitude;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the piece of furniture with the screen in theusage attitude;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the piece of furniture with the screen in theusage attitude;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the shape of a main body and acarrying member;

FIG. 8 illustrates a tray, (a) being a perspective view thereof and (b)being a rear view thereof;

FIG. 9 illustrates the tray, (a) being a bottom view thereof and (b)being a longitudinal sectional side view thereof;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a corner supporting member;

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the main parts of the corner supportingmember when provided with a speaker;

FIG. 12 is a front view showing another piece of furniture comprising aback board;

FIG. 13 is a rear view showing the other piece of furniture comprisingthe back board;

FIG. 14 is a side view showing the other piece of furniture comprisingthe back board;

FIG. 15 is a front view showing a screen provided on the piece offurniture shown in FIG. 12 in a usage attitude;

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing an attachment portion of the back boardand the supporting member; and

FIG. 17 is a front view showing a plasma display attached to the backboard of the piece of furniture shown in FIG. 13.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1(a), (b), 2, and 3 illustrate a piece of furniture with a screen(to be referred to as “piece of furniture” or “furniture” below) inwhich a screen (the size (magnitude) of which may differ from that shownin the drawing) 1 shown in FIG. 4 is stored. This piece of furniturecomprises a wooden (metallic, synthetic resin, or other constitutionsare also possible) main body 2 which is substantially rectangular whenseen from above, and a drawer 3 provided therein which is movablebetween a pulled-out position in which the drawer 3 is pulled-outfrontward and a storage position in which the drawer 3 is stored insidethe main body 2. The screen 1 is rolled up and stored inside the drawer3. As shown in FIGS. 1(a), (b), 2, and 10, corner supporting members 6formed in a substantially L-shaped form when seen from above andconstituted by a rear plate portion 4 and a side plate portion 5 whichcontact each other along the rear face of the supporting member mainbody 2 and the adjacent side face thereto on either the left or rightside are connected to the respective rear side corner portions on bothsides of the main body 2 in the left/right direction by screws B2, andsupport legs 10 constituted by a front side base portion 7 whichcontacts the floor surface in a position frontward (any position ispossible provided it is in front of the screen 1 as shown in FIG. 2) ofthe front end face of the closed drawer 3, a rear side base portion 8which contacts the ground slightly rearward of the central position ofthe side plate portion 5 in a front-back direction, and a plate-formsupport portion 9 which is attached to the base portions 7, 8 and fixedto the supporting member 6 by screws B4, are provided on the left/rightpair of supporting members 6, 6. By setting the upper end of thesupporting members 6, 6 at a substantially equal height to the upper endof the main body 2, reductions in the overall size and weight of thefurniture can be achieved. Further, by forming the supporting members 6,6 in an L-shape, strength is improved in comparison with a planarmember, although the supporting member may be constituted by a slightlythickened planar member. Forming the main body 2 in a rectangular,square, or similar shape is advantageous from the point of view ofmanufacture of the supporting members 6 and handling, such astransportation and the like, of the furniture. However, the main body 2may be constituted in any form, including an elliptical form orpolygonal forms such as a triangle.

The front side base portion 7 and rear side base portion 8 arerespectively attached to the support portion 9 by screwing using screws,and by rotating the base portions 7, 8, they can be moved up and down inrespect of the support portion 9. This is advantageous in that theheight at which the furniture contacts the ground can be adjusted inaccordance with irregularities, protrusions, and so on in the groundsurface, for example. However, support legs in which ground contactheight adjustment is not possible may be provided. If support legs 10which cannot alter the ground contact height are used, the base portions7, 8 and the support portion 9 may be constituted integrally. The groundcontact positions of the base portions 7, 8 are advantageous in that bydisposing the base portions 7, 8 further to the front or rear in thefront-back direction, the furniture is less likely to fall over.However, in order to reduce the size of the furniture, the base portions7, 8 may be set so as not to protrude greatly from the front end andrear end portions of the furniture.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 7, the main body 2 is formed in a box formwith an open front face having a single space 2K into which the drawer 3can be inserted and stored, this space 2K being formed by a top plateportion 2A serving as an upper face on which objects can be placed, leftand right side plate portions 2B, 2C (in the drawing, only the rightside is shown), a back (rear) plate portion 2D, and a bottom plateportion 2E. However, the main body 2 may have a constitution other thanthat shown in the drawings. As shown in FIG. 5, the drawer 3, which canbe freely pulled out from and inserted into the main body 2, isconstituted by a front plate portion 3A, left and right side plateportions 3B, 3C (in the drawing, only the left side is shown), a bottomplate portion 3D on which the screen 1 is placed, and so on. However,the drawer 3 may have a constitution other than that shown in thedrawings. Notch portions 2H into which the rear plate portion 4 of thesupporting members 6 are inserted are formed on both the left and rightsides on the rear side of the main body 2 to move the center of gravityof the main body 2 slightly rearward in respect of the supporting member6 such that the furniture is reliably prevented from falling forward.However, the main body 2 may be provided without the notch portions 2H.The drawer 3 is constituted to be slidable in the front-back directionby the electric power of an electric motor (not shown) or the like, butmay be caused to slide by manual force.

As shown in FIGS. 1(a), 2, and 7, a metallic carrying member 11 formedwith a smaller front-back dimension than the front-back dimension of themain body 2 in order to carry and support the main body 2 and increasethe overall strength of the furniture is connected between theleft/right pair of supporting members 6, 6 using screws B3. The carryingmember 11 and the main body 2 are connected in a vertical direction byscrews B1.

As shown in FIG. 7, the carrying member 11 is constituted by a framebody with a hollow interior comprising an angled tube form rear sideportion 12, right and left L-shaped side portions 13, 14 fixed to thetwo ends of the rear side portion 12 by welding or the like and bentforward therefrom at a 90° angle, and a tubular front side portion 15which connects the front end portions of the left and right sideportions 13, 14. Hence a reduction in weight is achieved and the mainbody 2 can be securely carried and supported. The material and form ofthe carrying member 11 are freely modifiable. Further, if the strengthof the main body 2 itself is increased, then the carrying portion 11 maybe omitted. When fixing the carrying member 11 and supporting member 6together, screws B2 are screwed into screw holes 11 b (see FIG. 7)formed in the carrying member 11 through through holes 6K formed in thecorresponding supporting member 6, as will be described below and as isshown in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the side plate portion 5 of the supportingmember 6 is formed with a protruding portion 17 which protrudes outwardin the front-back direction from a substantially central portion of theside plate portion 5 to form an interior space 16 which extends over theentirety of the vertical direction. This enables strength to be enhancedand also, as shown in the drawings, allows a cord 18 to be inserted intothe interior space 16 and guided downward. Since the cord 18 insertedinto the interior space 16 (although not shown in the drawings, the cordis a cord for other electrical equipment placed on the upper face of themain body 2, for example a cord for a plasma display, and may also be apower cord for the electric motor which drives the screen 1 or theelectric motor which slide operates the drawer 3) can be seen from thelower interior of the furniture, a cover may be attached to the interiorspace 16 from the inside so that the interior space 16 cannot be seenfrom the lower interior of the furniture. Alternatively, the protrudingportion 17 may be caused to protrude inward. In this case, the interiorspace can be seen from the exterior of the furniture, and hence a coverwhich seals the interior space from the outside may be attached. Byinserting [into the interior space 16] a wiring duct (also known as apower source duct) or the like for supplying a power source, which isformed as a channel and buried in the floor, for example, the powersource of the plasma display or other electrical equipment placed on themain body 2 may be easily ensured from the wiring duct through anattachment power source plug outlet instead of using the cord 18. A plugoutlet may be used in place of the wiring duct. In FIGS. 10 and 11, theprotruding portion 17 is formed in a substantially trapezoid form whenseen from above, but may take any form such as an arc form, arectangular form, or an angled form. In FIGS. 10 and 11, the referencenumeral 19 indicates vertical positioning grooves (which are formed overthe entirety of the vertical direction but may be formed partially)which are used when screws are inserted to securely position the distalend (blade tip) of an electric drill or the like used to form the screwthrough holes 6K by locking the distal end of the drill so that thedistal end does not deviate from its position. The vertical grooves 19are advantageous in that the through holes 6K may be formed securely andswiftly in the positions at which the screws B2 used to fix together thecarrying member 11 and supporting member 6 are inserted. However, thevertical grooves 19 may be omitted. A vertical groove 19 is also formedin the protruding portion 17 to aid in the formation of screw holes forfixing a wiring duct (plug outlet or similar) inserted into the interiorspace 16, but this vertical groove 19 may also be omitted.

The reference symbol K in FIG. 3 indicates cover members which, bylatching onto the upper end of the supporting member 6, cover theinterior space 16 from above, and which are also used to provide acosmetically pleasing upper end to the supporting member 6.

A curved portion 5A curved outward into arc form is provided on the endportion of the side plate portion 5, and as shown in FIG. 11, thiscurved portion 5A may be used as an attachment portion 5A for attachinga small speaker 20. More specifically, the distal end of a rod-form arm21 which protrudes from the small speaker 20 is provided with a fittingportion 22 which is inserted into the attachment portion 5A, a screwportion 22A is formed in the fitting portion 22 so that a hexagon socketset screw 23 can be screwed therein, and by screwing the hexagon socketset screw 23 into the screw portion 22A such that the distal end thereofis forced to contact the inner face of the attachment portion 5A, thespeaker 20 can be fixed into position. However, the speaker 20 may befixed according to another configuration. Also, an object other than thespeaker 20 may be attached via the attachment portion 5A.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 16, the end portion of the rear plate portion 4is provided with a fitting portion 4A substantially in the form of areverse C when seen from above into which a back board 24 may be fitted.This is advantageous in that the back board 24 can be attached easilyand swiftly, but may be omitted. If the back board 24 is provided, asshown in FIGS. 12 to 15, the upper ends of the supporting members 6, 6are constituted to be higher than the upper end of the main body 2 so asto be positioned thereabove, and the back board 24 is fitted into thefitting portions 4A, 4A from the upper face of the main body 2 to theupper ends of the supporting members 6, 6. Note that in FIG. 15, a stateis shown in which the screen 1 is raised into its usage attitude and twotrays 31, 31 and a center speaker 33 to be described below are providedin the lower portion of the main body 2. As shown in FIG. 17, a plasmadisplay (a liquid crystal display or the like is also possible) 25 maybe attached to the front face of the back board 24 which is attached inthe manner described above. By providing a constitution as thatdescribed above, in which the back board 24 can be attached, increasesin size and weight may occur in comparison with the furniture shown inFIGS. 1 through 6, but since [the backboard 24 forms] the rear end, thecenter of gravity of the furniture can be moved rearward, which isadvantageous in that the furniture becomes unlikely to fall forward.Further, by attaching the plasma display to the back board 24 attachedin this manner, the plasma display can be attached with stability andwithout moving the center of gravity of the entire piece of furnituregreatly forward. The other constitutions shown in FIGS. 12 through 17are identical to those described above, and hence identical referencesymbols have been allocated thereto and description thereof has beenomitted.

As shown in FIGS. 4 through 6, the upper end of the screen 1 issupported by a supporting member 26 in angled tubular form positioned atone end (the upper end) of a pantographic link mechanism 27, and thelower end of the screen 1 is attached to a screen winding spindle (apipe may be used) J provided inside the drawer 3. The pantographic linkmechanism 27 comprises a pair of upper links 29, 29, one end (the upperend) of which is pivotably connected to a bracket 28 attached to therear face of the supporting member 26 in a substantially centralposition in the left/right direction, and lower links 30, 30, one end(the upper end) of which is pivotably connected to the lower ends of theupper links 29, 29 and the other end (the lower end) of which ispivotable connected to an attachment member (not shown) fixed to thebottom plate portion of the drawer 3. Accordingly, when the screen 1 ismodified in attitude to the usage attitude, the drawer 3 is caused toslide forward in respect of the main body 2 using the electric power ofan electric motor or the like, as described above, and then the screenwinding spindle J around which the screen 1 is wound is rotated by theelectric power of an electric motor or the like not shown in the drawingsuch that the screen 1 is unfurled, the link mechanism 27 is raised, andthe screen 1 can be modified in to its usage attitude (see FIGS. 5 and6). When the screen 1 in its usage attitude is to be stored, the screenwinding spindle J is rotated in the opposite direction using theelectric power of the electric motor, whereby the screen 1 is woundaround the screen winding spindle J and stored. Thus the screen 1 can bemodified in attitude to the storage attitude. The drawer 3 is thencaused to slide backward using the electric power of the electric motoror the like, whereby the drawer 3 can be stored inside the main body 2(see FIG. 2). The drawer 3 and screen 1 may be operated by manual powerrather than electric power.

As shown in FIGS. 4 through 6, tray spaces 32, 32 in which two trays 31,31 constituted so as to move freely when audio equipment is placedthereon may be stored and a speaker space 34 into which a center speaker33 can be inserted and stored between the trays 31, 31 are formed in thelower portion of the main body 2, or more specifically between thecarrying member 11 and the floor surface. However, a space in which onlyone tray 31 can be stored or spaces in which three or more trays 31 canbe stored may be formed. In FIGS. 4 and 6, the three spaces 32, 32, 34are constituted by a single space, but may be constituted by threespaces using partition plates or the like. By providing the centerspeaker 33 in the manner described above, sound may be output in a realfashion from a substantially central position in the left/rightdirection of the screen 1.

The two trays 31, 31 have an identical constitution, and hence one ofthe trays 31 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 8(a), (b) and 9(a),(b), the tray 31 comprises a plate-form carrying portion 35 made of woodon which audio equipment is placed, and a left/right pair of metallicplate-form vertical wall portions 36 which rise upward from the left andright end portions of the carrying portion 35. The vertical wallportions 36 each have a horizontal portion which is formed by foldingthe lower ends thereof in a horizontal direction and screwed to thelower face of the carrying portion 35. The reference symbol 36A in thedrawings indicates three holes formed in the vertical wall portions 36,but these holes 36A may be omitted.

A concave portion 37 recessed toward the front side is formed on therear face of the carrying portion 35, and an audio equipment poweroutlet (in the drawing, two plug holes are provided for the two piecesof audio equipment that can be carried on the trays, but one, three, ormore plug holes may be provided) 38 is embedded in the concave portion37 so that the power cords of the audio equipment are not positioned onthe exterior of the trays 31. Substantially rectangular concave portions39 recessed upward are formed in two locations, on the left and rightside, of the front side and rear side respectively on the lower face ofthe carrying portion 35, and non-direction changing casters 40(constituted with rollers that are attached so as to be rotatable onlyalong a left/right horizontal axis) are attached to each of the fourconcave portions 39, thereby making the gap between the floor surfaceand the carrying portion 35 as small as possible and allowing easyhandling of the trays 31 which can only move forward and backward, incontrast to a case in which direction-changing casters are attached suchthat the trays 31 move unexpectedly. However, direction-changing castersmay be attached to the tray 31. A concave portion 41 into which a handcan be inserted is also formed on the lower face of the carrying portion35 in a substantially central position between the left and right endsof the front side, thereby enabling the tray 31 to be easily moved andmanipulated by a hand inserted into the concave portion 41.Alternatively, a handle or the like which protrudes slightly frontwardmay be attached to the front face of the carrying portion 35.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, the screen is constituted so as tobe raised (pulled) upward, and thus a tall main body such as that of aconventional piece of furniture need not be provided, leading to areduction in weight and convenience from the point of view of handling.Further, the main body is supported by corner supporting members with asmaller front-back dimension than that of the main body, and thus areduction in the weight of the supporting members themselves can beachieved, thereby further enhancing the weight reduction effectdescribed above. Although supporting members with a small front-backdimension are used such that when the drawer is pulled forward to placethe screen in its usage attitude, the screen is positioned far towardthe front side, the main body can be securely prevented from fallingforward by the base portions which contact the ground frontward of thescreen. Hence a piece of furniture with both reduced weight and superiorproduct reliability can be provided.

In the present invention, the supporting member is constituted by aplate-form member in a substantially L-shaped form when seen from abovewhich is connected to the main body so as to contact the rear face ofthe main body on the left and right corner portions thereof and theadjacent side face thereto on either the left or right side, and thusthe supporting member can be made thinner and lighter than a member inplanar form. Also, the supporting member can be connected to the mainbody without the need for gutters, which is advantageous from the pointof view of handling and product finishing.

In the present invention, the main body is constituted in a box shapewith an open front face comprising a single space in which the drawerstoring the screen can be stored. By setting the height of the upper endof the supporting member to be substantially equal to the height of theupper end of the main body, the weight and size of the main body can bereduced even further, which is even more advantageous from the point ofview of handling.

In the present invention, the main body is constituted in a box shapewith an open front face comprising a single space in which the drawerstoring the screen can be stored, the upper end of the supporting memberis set higher than the upper end of the main body so as to be positionedthereabove, and a fitting portion is provided on the end portion of therespective rear plate portions of the two corner supporting members.Hence a back board can be attached by simply fitting the back board intothe fitting portion, which is advantageous in terms of assembly, andparticularly advantageous in that the center of gravity of the entirepiece of furniture can be prevented from moving forward when the draweris pulled forward and the screen is raised. The back board attached inthe manner described above may also be used as an attachment member forattaching a plasma display or liquid crystal display, for example,thereto.

In the present invention, the supporting members are formed with aprotruding portion which protrudes outward or inward to form an interiorspace over the entirety of the vertical direction. Thus an increase instrength is achieved and the interior space formed in the protrudingportion can be used conveniently as a space for providing a wiring ductto supply power to the audio equipment placed on the main body, or as aspace for storing a cord for the audio equipment and so on placed on theshelf boards.

In the present invention, an attachment portion to which a speaker canbe attached is provided on the end portion of each side plate portion ofthe supporting members. Thus a speaker can be attached easily andswiftly such that the system can be set up simply.

In the present invention, a space into which a movable tray for carryingaudio equipment can be inserted and stored is formed in the lowerportion of the main body. This is convenient and useful in that wiringand maintenance work can be performed easily and quickly on the audioequipment placed on the trays in an open area by pulling the trays outof the main body.

In the present invention, tray spaces into which two movable trays forcarrying audio equipment can be inserted and stored and a speaker spacein which a center speaker can be disposed between the two trays areformed in the lower portion of the main body. This is convenient anduseful in that audio equipment can be placed on the two trays in an openarea by pulling the trays out of the lower portion of the main body, andwiring and maintenance work can be performed thereon easily and quickly.Further, by disposing a center speaker between the trays, no specialinstallation space need be provided, and sound can be output from anoptimum position in relation to the screen. As a result, the value ofthe furniture with a screen can be increased.

In the present invention, the tray is constituted by a carrying portionon which audio equipment is carried and a left/right pair of verticalwall portions which rise upward from the left and right end portions ofthe carrying portion, and a concave portion for inserting a power outletfor the audio equipment placed on the carrying portion is formed on therear face of the carrying portion. Thus operations (including remotecontrol operations) from the front face of the tray, maintenance work,or wiring and maintenance work from the rear face of the tray can beperformed easily, which is advantageous in terms of usability. Further,by inserting a power plug of the audio equipment carried on the trayinto the power outlet, trouble which occurs when a power plug attachedto the distal end of a power cord of the audio equipment is inserteddirectly into an outlet attached to a wall, such as the power cordcatching on a part of tray and becoming damaged, can be avoided, andthus usage is favorable.

1. A piece of furniture with a screen comprising: a main body isprovided with a drawer which is freely movable between a pulled-outposition in which said drawer is pulled-out frontward and a storageposition in which said drawer is stored inside said main body; a screenis rolled up and stored in the interior of said drawer; wherein: thepiece of furniture is constituted to be freely modifiable in attitudebetween a usage attitude in which said screen stored in side said draweris raised upward when said drawer is pulled out and a storage attitudein which said screen is rolled up and stored inside said drawer; cornersupporting members having a smaller front-back dimension than thefront-back dimension of said main body are connected to the respectiveleft and right end portions on the rear side of said main body tosupport said main body; and support legs comprising a base portion whichcontacts the ground frontward of at least said screen in the storageattitude are provided on the left/right pair of supporting members. 2.The piece of furniture with a screen according to claim 1, wherein saidsupporting member is constituted by a plate-form member formed in asubstantially L-shaped form when seen from above which is connected tosaid main body so as to contact the rear face of said main body on theleft and right corner portions thereof and the adjacent side facethereto on either the left or right side.
 3. The piece of furniture witha screen according to claim 1, wherein said main body is constituted ina box shape with an open front face comprising a single space in whichthe drawer storing said screen can be stored, and the height of theupper end of said supporting member is set to be substantially equal tothe height of the upper end of said main body.
 4. The piece of furniturewith a screen according to claim 1, wherein: said main body isconstituted in a box shape with an open front face comprising a singlespace in which the drawer storing said screen can be stored; the upperend of said supporting member is set higher than the upper end of saidmain body so as to be positioned thereabove; and a fitting portion forfitting a back board is provided on the end portion of the respectiverear plate portions of said two corner supporting members.
 5. The pieceof furniture with a screen according to claim 1, wherein a protrudingportion which protrudes outward or inward is formed in said supportingmember to form an interior space over the entirety of the verticaldirection thereof.
 6. The piece of furniture with a screen according toclaim 1, wherein an attachment portion to which a speaker can beattached is provided on the front end portion of said supporting member.7. The piece of furniture with a screen according to claim 1, wherein aspace into which a movable tray for carrying audio equipment can beinserted and stored is formed in the lower portion of said main body. 8.The piece of furniture with a screen according to claim 1, wherein trayspaces into which two movable trays for carrying audio equipment can beinserted and stored and a speaker space in which a center speaker can bedisposed between the two trays are formed in the lower portion of saidmain body.
 9. The piece of furniture with a screen according to claim 7or claim 8, wherein said tray is constituted by a carrying portion forcarrying audio equipment and a left/right pair of vertical wall portionswhich rise upward from the left and right end portions of said carryingportion, and is provided with a concave portion formed on the rear faceof said carrying portion into which a power outlet for the audioequipment carried on said carrying portion is embedded.